History Behind The Top Fashion Department Stores

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Like many American cities in the south, Louisville had a number of Department and clothing Stores which were part of the local culture but no longer exist.

Louisville in the Deep South had a number of Department clothing Stores which were landmarks in the city, where people would shop regularly as part of the family tradition or according to their profession, catering to certain niches.

Shopping was a leisure affair, a type of entertainment as one or more shoppers visited multiple shops to check out their wares.However, over a period of time, many of these clothing shops and stores, which consisted of multiple stories, have been shut down, though the buildings which housed them remain in existence.

Appel’s was originally founded as a store selling menswear in 1883 by Louis Appel, and by 1925, the store had included a wide range of woman’s clothing, hats, shoes and novelties in its range of clothes and supplies. Though the founder died in 1936, the store continued to be in existence till 1967, when it was shut down. Bacon’s was another department store which was founded in 1945, which claimed to sell quality goods at affordable prices. The store stocked a wide range of home furnishings, men’s, boys and women’s clothing, men’s and women’s footwear, carpets and other goods. The department store was bought out by Dillard’s in 1998.

Ben Snyder Department store was founded by the Russian born Ben Snyder in 1907. The store sold highly discounted women’s garments and other accessories like shoes. However, this retailer was renamed as Hess’s in 1987 but was shut down in 1993. Besten and Langan was store which specialized in ladies garments, coats and similar apparel, and was first listed in the directories in 1905, and expanded rapidly as it advertised. However, there are no listings in the directory since 1962. The Bon Ton which was in operation from 1911 to 1961 carried a wide range of woman’s sportswear, fur coats and similar accessories.